Devil's Backbone: The Modoc War, 1872-3 (Plainsmen) [Mass Market Paperback]

Terry C. Johnston (Author)

Book Description

Series: Plainsmen | Publication Date: April 24, 2012

The Modoc Indians and American officials had been flirting with war in the Oregon Territory for some time. When Modoc chief Keintpoos murdered a Civil War hero during negotiations, the U.S. Army launched a deadly offensive against the rebel tribe. Besieged in the natural stronghold of the Lava Beds near Tule Lake, the Modocs waged bloody war for seven long months.

Sergeant Seamus Donegan, on the trail of his uncle, Ian O'Rourke, arrived at Tule Lake just as the conflict erupted. Soon Donegan and the brooding O'Rourke found themselves embroiled in what would be the costliest war in frontier history...

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Rich and fascinating." --Washington Post Book World

About the Author

Terry C. Johnston was born on the first day of 1947 on the plains of Kansas, and lived all his life in the American West. His first novel, Carry the Wind, won the Medicine Pipe Bearer's Award from the Western Writers of America, and his subsequent books appeared on bestseller lists throughout the country.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks (April 24, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312925743
• ISBN-13: 978-0312925741
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #142,067 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A very well written acount of the Modoc War, July 15, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Devil's Backbone: The Modoc War, 1872-3 (Plainsmen) (Mass Market Paperback)

This is the first (and not last) book I've read by Johnston, and it was very good. At times it was hard to keep reading it, at times it was hard to put down. I'm very glad I read this, and I think anyone else interested in this time period should definetly pick this up. And of course read it.

4.0 out of 5 stars A decent first book about the Modoc War, July 18, 2010

By 

Peter Andresen "wahkahchim" (Salinas, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Devil's Backbone: The Modoc War, 1872-3 (Plainsmen) (Mass Market Paperback)

This is fiction, with fictional primary characters, but it deals with very real events in American history. As a first book on the Modoc War I found it very easy reading and thus quite useful.

4.0 out of 5 stars Good story of a far-west Indian conflict, June 9, 2010

By 

New England Pat (Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Devil's Backbone: The Modoc War, 1872-3 (Plainsmen) (Mass Market Paperback)

This entry of the "Plainsmen Series" takes readers to the California-Oregon border where hostilities between white settlers and Modocs are detailed in a fine narrative. The issue again is the dispute about land that both the Indians and homesteaders claim, obliging treaty commissioners to arbitrate, of course, on the side of the ranchers. Animosity between the whites and Modocs escalates and soon leads to military conflict. The story is replete with betrayals, not only of the peace commissioner General Canby, but of Modoc chief Captain Jack by his own men who later received amnesty from the government by forcing the surrender of their erstwhile leader. The grueling campaign in the treacherous Lava Beds is where most of the skirmishes take place, but the Modoc fighting men, while cunning and fierce on the battlefield, are not portrayed in a very noble light. Seamus Donegan, on the trail of an uncle living in Lost River Valley, takes center stage in this bloody and thankless war of extermination of an Indian tribe.